A woman has lost some of her most precious memories after burglars stole her handbag that contained her personal diary.

Kim Batchellor said her diary contained some special memories of when she visited her daughter who lives in the Middle East, her personal thoughts and some church talks she had made notes on.

She and her husband Ted were asleep on Sunday morning until their burglar alarm woke them at 6.25am.

The couple, who live on Butt Lane, ran out to see what had happened and discovered burglars had got in through their kitchen window and stole the handbag.

Mrs Batchellor said: “We are usually so security conscious but that day we had been working in the garden until quite late.

“We left the garden gate open and one of the small kitchen windows was not locked.

“We have a pet labrador called Welly who sleeps in there but he is old so he didn’t do anything.

“I left my handbag in the kitchen which is something I rarely do and they took that. It had my life inside.

“I had my iPhone and lots of bank cards in there, some belonging to my elderly mother, wedding papers because my son is getting married soon, and my diary which had things in there that can’t be replaced.

“There was nothing extremely valuable taken but it was a lot of hassle. It could have been a lot worse if our alarm hadn’t gone off.”

Mrs Batchellor said people had returned some of the wedding papers back to her after finding them discarded on nearby streets.

She added: “I want to say thank you to those people - they came all the way back to return them. It’s so nice to see people being neighbourly.

“You do feel silly when this happens to you. It only takes one lapse for it to happen.

“I just want to remind people to be on high alert. Don’t forget to make sure your windows and doors are locked at night and if you’re working out in the garden in the day lock your doors.

“It’s really upsetting to know that someone has been in your home.”

The suspects are described as two white men. One of the pair was wearing a dark blue hooded coat and the other was wearing a light grey hooded coat.

Sgt Mark Freer from Hinckley police said: “The suspects were dressed as though it was winter. We think there may have been people walking their dogs in the area who may have seen them.”

Police in Hinckley and Bosworth say there has been an increase of burglaries in the area and are urging residents to make sure their properties are kept secure.